Buffet character dining

[Amy11401]

I know that some of the character dining buffets don't always get the best reviews. So let me tell you about my family.... we are a family of 3, DS will have just turned 5 when we go and DH is not an adventurous eater. We like eating at chain restaurants back at home so we aren't necessarily looking for fine dining experiences but want the food to be good. With that in mind do you think our family will like the dinner food at Chef Mickeys and Hollywood and Vine? Thanks!

 

[bigbabyblues]

Are you ok with Golden Corral? I would compare them to that, maybe a little better. Just know that it is way more expensive, but with a little one who loves characters, it isn't always about the cost.

 

[crabbygal902]

I’m sure you will get lots of differing opinions here, but H&V’s Food is pretty terrible. Is it worth it to you to for your child to meet those characters?

We’ve had a love/hate relationship with Chef Mickey’s for years. If it is enough to go and enjoy the atmosphere and characters, then it will be great.

Here are some places that IMHO have consistently good food, character interaction, and service:

‘Ohana breakfast
1900 Park Fare Dinner (BEST character interaction!)
Cape May Breakfast

I hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[KenHutch]

Chef Mickeys is not great food but its OK and you do get the Fab 5. If your son is in love with the characters at H&V is the only reason to go there. Have you check out the menu's for Garden Grill and 1900 Park Fare. We have done 1900 for breakfast just to meet the Mad Hatter. He really makes it worth going.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I have found both of them to be hit or miss on food quality. That is, I have found things I like on the buffet (even at H&V) and things I didn’t. Get more of what you like. Personally I think it’s better then Golden Corral but I wouldn’t call it high quality.

 

[Average Joes]

Chef Mickey was just ok for us for breakfast. Lunch was terrible in 2015 at H&V. By far the worst sit down meal at Disney we’ve had. However it also gave us fantasmic FP which which were awesome. We now avoid character meals. My kids see the characters enough at meet and greets to justify the premium price of bad food. If we only had a few days in the park we might do one.

 

[Ben E N]

1900 park fare is fantastic for dinner if your kids are at all into Cinderella. The food is not bad eitber.
While I have not been blown away by Chef Mickey's, I also never leave feeling hungry, sick, or feeling like I ate bad food. As our waitress said "we have hot food over there, cold food over there, but let's admit it - you're not here for the food"

 

[CynBeth]

We have only done character breakfasts and our favorites are Crystal Palace, Tusker House, and Cape May. The best dinner buffet is Boma but it is at AKL without characters.

 

[Amy11401]

Thanks everyone. We will be using the dining plan so the price is not really a concern. We have gone to Golden Corral a few times and most times we were fine with it. Hollywood and Vine was originally not on our radar but our travel agent said it is neat to go to around Halloween time because the characters are dressed up and do some fun things.

 

[MamaBelle4]

I mean, to me, saying it is like "golden corral" is like saying Five Guys and McDonald's are equivalent. You can definitely get better burgers, but Five Guys is a couple steps up.

That's what I think about the Character buffets. Just as long as you don't go in expecting V&A's, you should be happy.

 

[Missyrose]

Thanks everyone. We will be using the dining plan so the price is not really a concern. We have gone to Golden Corral a few times and most times we were fine with it. Hollywood and Vine was originally not on our radar but our travel agent said it is neat to go to around Halloween time because the characters are dressed up and do some fun things.

It's really cute with the characters in costume. The food is just okay, but you're really there to meet the characters.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you are ok with chain restaurants, I think you will be fine at CM and H&V.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

We are not crazy about the food at either but we love the experiences at both. I would go for whichever location/experience sounds most appealing to you.

Also, for the record, I was terrified to eat dinner at H&V because of awful reviews on here. I almost cancelled it. I am so happy I didn’t.

1. The food was way better than I expected. It wasn’t outstanding or anything but I was expecting complete garbage based on what I read here. It was fine.

2. It turned out to be one of our best meals for character interactions EVER. We had multiple visits from Minnie, Daisy, Donald and Goofy (Mickey was the posed photo as we entered.) The characters were sooo interactive. They gave my 1 year old so much attention and time and it was really special.

3. We do early seatings because the food seems freshest. I don’t know off the top of my head but check the hours for when lunch ends and dinner starts at each. Sometimes there is a good chunk of time in between. We like the earliest seatings for dinner when there isn’t lunch overlap because the food is the freshest and the restaurant/buffet isn’t as crowded yet.

 

[brandoko]

Buffet character dining is definitely not the best. My personal favorite is the Crystal Palace just because the Winnie the Pooh characters are harder to find in general in the parks. Chef Mickey's is fun, especially because you can watch the monorail coming in.

 

[stace1214]

We went to H&V for breakfast and really liked it. Tusker House is a favorite of ours too for breakfast. We loved 1900 Park Fare- the step-sisters are hilarious and the food was so good. Definitely go early to reduce crowding.

 

[Vala]

We are not crazy about the food at either but we love the experiences at both. I would go for whichever location/experience sounds most appealing to you.

Also, for the record, I was terrified to eat dinner at H&V because of awful reviews on here. I almost cancelled it. I am so happy I didn’t.

1. The food was way better than I expected. It wasn’t outstanding or anything but I was expecting complete garbage based on what I read here. It was fine.

2. It turned out to be one of our best meals for character interactions EVER. We had multiple visits from Minnie, Daisy, Donald and Goofy (Mickey was the posed photo as we entered.) The characters were sooo interactive. They gave my 1 year old so much attention and time and it was really special.

3. We do early seatings because the food seems freshest. I don’t know off the top of my head but check the hours for when lunch ends and dinner starts at each. Sometimes there is a good chunk of time in between. We like the earliest seatings for dinner when there isn’t lunch overlap because the food is the freshest and the restaurant/buffet isn’t as crowded yet.

We went for the first time when they had the Star Wars character meal. Seeing we wanted those characters it was no question anyway, we'd go.

I only read the really negative reviews here afterwards and some were so bad that for a minute I thought I had been at the wrong meal. Some points like the restaurant being loud I could see. But most of the food complaints I didn't agree with. It wasn't fine dining by any means, but I liked the food way better than 1900 Park Fare for example.

When we went for Halloween now we had two people in our group who had never been, and they declared H&V one of the best meals of the trip, not only because of the characters.

 

[Dee McGee]

Chef Mickey's? Yes!
Hollywood and Vine? No!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

OUR OWN WDW CHARACTER MEAL & BUFFET RANKINGS (*rev: August 2017*):
Results are listed from best to worst
Best Food (quality first, then variety):
. . . 1900 Park Fare (B-D)
. . . Tusker House, moved from #1 Spot due to menu changes (B-L-D)
. . . Ohana (B)
. . . Garden Grill (B-D)
. . . Garden Grove Swan (D)
. . . Akershus Royal Banquet (B-L-D)
. . . Tusker House, (D)
. . . Cape May Café (B)
. . . Hollywood & Vine (B-L-D)
. . . Crystal Palace (B-L-D)
. . . Cinderella Royal Table, since new menu (B-L-D)
. . . Chef Mickey's (B-L-D)
Best Character Interaction (time with guest first, then friendliness):
. . . Tusker House
. . . Akershus Royal Banquet
. . . 1900 Park Fare (D)
. . . Garden Grill
. . . Tusker House
. . . Ohana
. . . 1900 Park Fare (B)
. . . Garden Grove
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Chef Mickey's
. . . Cape May Café
. . . Hollywood & Vine
. . . Cinderella Royal Table
. . . Crystal Palace (barely enough time for a photo)
Best Atmosphere (surroundings and ambiance):
. . . Cinderella Royal Table
. . . Tusker House, Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner
. . . Akershus Royal Banquet
. . . Ohana
. . . 1900 Park Fare
. . . Garden Grill
. . . Crystal Palace
. . . Hollywood & Vine
. . . Cape May Café
. . . Garden Grove
. . . Chef Mickey's
.
NOTE: Results are listed from best to worst. Overall, Tusker House wins due to best food and the length of time the characters stay at each table. A close second is 1900 Park Fare. By far, Chef Mickey's is the loser, due to mediocre character interaction and almost terrible food
quality. The very distant second worst is Cinderella Royal Table, for brief time at tables by characters and the new menu. For non-character breakfast buffets, we prefer The Wave (CR) or Trail's End (FW).